> When they simplified the UI, they also removed the degrees symbol and the fan.
This, I believe, is the real point of failure. The value of reorganizing the icons into sub-menus can be debated, but some of the details that were removed in the course of this change appear to have been critical.
There is a concept in UX design called "information scent" – the combination of spatial, contextual, and cultural cues that clue a user in to where they can find what they're looking for. Simply keeping the fan icon next to the temperature display/button might have been enough to make the mental connection for the OP (and likely countless others).
Of course, this is the kind of thing that tends to shake out in user testing, and I'm very surprised that this appears not to have shown up in the testing I would assume Tesla must do with any change to the dashboard, certainly one this fundamental.
I somewhat disagree. My brain does not see a climate control button and think "that button which can control fan speed and cabin temperature probably also controls the weakly-related function of window demisting".
I would have no trouble adapting one I knew, but I doubt that I would find it for myself. And relying upon users discovering where functions are located by randomly pressing buttons is a bad UX/interface for a vehicle IMO.
I agree with all of this, but the assertion that some are making that the window demisting is weakly related to the climate control system seems very odd.
It's literally a function of the climate control system, and is almost always part of the same set of buttons as temp/fans etc in a car with hard buttons.
When you push the demist button, air is directed to the windscreen, by the same system that directs air to your face or feet.
I can understand why people would consider window de-misting weakly related to climate control.
The use of climate control to de-mist a windscreen is pure implementation detail, and I don’t think the Model 3 even uses climate control for de-misting, instead relying on resistive heaters embedded in the windscreen.
Personally I associate climate control and the temperature setting with personal comfort. But de-misting is a core driving control, and sits along side wipers, lights, fog lights etc. I use all those to drive safely, and expect them to be within easy reach of the driver and readily available. Climate I’m happy to have in a sub-menu, because I can always wait to adjust the temperature if I’m dealing with tricky road conditions, same doesn’t apply to de-fogging equipment (which may, or may not, involve the climate control).
This, I believe, is the real point of failure. The value of reorganizing the icons into sub-menus can be debated, but some of the details that were removed in the course of this change appear to have been critical.
There is a concept in UX design called "information scent" – the combination of spatial, contextual, and cultural cues that clue a user in to where they can find what they're looking for. Simply keeping the fan icon next to the temperature display/button might have been enough to make the mental connection for the OP (and likely countless others).
Of course, this is the kind of thing that tends to shake out in user testing, and I'm very surprised that this appears not to have shown up in the testing I would assume Tesla must do with any change to the dashboard, certainly one this fundamental.